Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden
U.S. President Joe Biden has pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, who was found guilty and was awaiting sentencing in two criminal cases, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports, citing a White House statement.
“From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” Biden stated.
Back in September, both Biden himself and his press secretary assured that he had no intention of issuing a pardon for his son.
In June, a jury found 54-year-old Hunter Biden guilty of concealing his drug addiction when purchasing a firearm in 2018. This made Hunter the first son of a current U.S. president to be convicted of a crime in history.
Then, in September, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to a separate case involving tax evasion.
In a statement released Sunday evening, Joe Biden claimed that the trials against his son were “infected by raw politics” and therefore resulted in unjust rulings.
“…and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further. I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision,” the statement read.
Hunter Biden was scheduled to be sentenced on December 12 and 16. In the second case, concerning $1.4 million in unpaid taxes from 2016 to 2019, he faced up to 15 years in prison.
Earlier, ahead of the elections, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump suggested the possibility of pardoning Biden’s son if he won the election.
